273 rev monster combos

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65Vart

65Vart

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Ok , Every one here it gos, I have a correct '65 273 solid lifter motor in my 65 Dart. It has a Eddy 600cfm 4 brl, mild cam .468 lift,Eddy d4B (not installed yet) intake etc....standard stuff. These things also came with 10.5:1 s in them. I am planning to build another street motor 340/60 what ever. I have even considered a SB stroker.
The 273 is cool though and I plan to keep it. Can you guys throw some power combos out there for the lowly 273, what heads? mods? anything. I see alot of 318 stuff on here but not much 273. My car is a 4 spd which helps the fun factor.

65 Vart 005.jpg
 
The member here "toolmanmike" is knowledgeable when it comes to the 273. Give him a PM.
 
I'll throw this info out there & you can do whatever you wnat with it. I built a 273 way back in 1976. It had 10.5 to one pistons, >484-284 cam (as best as I can recall) Isky springs, windage tray, Mallory dual point distributor & coil, Offy single plane manifold, Holley 3310 carb, stock bottom end (no balancing or rod work, just full groove mains), stock oil pump, pan & pickup, 1 5/8" full length headers, 10 1/2" aftermarket clutch & flywheel, 4 speed & 3.91 gears with Sure Grip. I usually tried to shift at 6000 but I know it pulled right on up to 7000 at least once & it never complained. Had no low end to speak of but the 3.09 first gear helped there. It wasn't a tire fryer but it was a screamer.
 
Sounds like you've got the pieces for a good combo already. Headers help as does a free flowing exhaust. Porting and gasket matching the heads helps also. If you're planning a rebuild make sure you put around 10.0-1 compression pistons in. Flatlander racing appears to have them available although I haven't contacted them yet. Your cam isn't too big which is good. 273's don't have loads of torque and a cam with too much duration (270-300) will just kill the bottom end. Carb is good too. A 600 or 650 works just fine. Look through the engine section of our forums. there's lots of posts about the mighty 273. Good luck and have fun!!
toolmanmike
 
I've owned about 7 running 273's in various barracuda's back in the 80's early 90's. All I ever did to any of them was put a better intake and carb. or the stock carter and maybe a small cam and headers and good dual exhaust. I've never built one major before. I never thought I had too. They rev like there is no tomorrow.
 
Start with some serious gear in the rear. Then ditch the 3.09 gearset in the 4-speed because you won't need it with a good gear.
 
How do you tell what gears your 4spd tranny has, does the serial number on the side tell you what is inside?
 
Already upgraded the 883 (has a bigger yoke (no "detroit" ball & trunnion). Aluminum shifter housing etc. No idea what gear is in it now. The owner of Milton Transmission up here in the great White thru my old 883 in the garbage. Great shop for all you GTA guys. I would trust this dude with my life. He had an orig sixPak Cuda in there with my car.
 
Vic Storm said:
How do you tell what gears your 4spd tranny has, does the serial number on the side tell you what is inside?
Click to expand...
The only way to know for sure is to open it up and count the teeth on the counter gear or the speed gears. The only early A-body to get an 833 with a 2.66 first gear, were D/Darts. The rest had a 3.09 first gear. 2nd gear in a 2.66 first trans, is 1.91. 2nd gear in a 3.09 first gear trans is 1.92. Obviously with a 3.09 you have a further stretch to make second than the close 2.66. This is fine in a motor that makes little power, or a land barge that needs a little help to get it out of the hole... but when you throw a performance motor and a low rear gear in the mix the drop in rpm will kill you. With a 2.66, the ratios are nice and close and you can speed shift through the gears and keep the engine pulling with little drop in rpm keeping the engine within the torque band.
 
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